Reflected on Blue eyes
by Equalist l3itch
Summary: Korra was given a mission. A simple one, to stop a once powerful bloodbender from turning his sons into what he used to be. Easier said than done. Noatak's caught between a rock and hard place when he has to choose between obeying his father's pressure and destroying the avatar, or allowing himself to fall for her, thinking they'd be able to have a happy ending. Teen Noatak x Korra
1. Prologue

Reflected on his blue eyes.

Teen Noatak x Korra. This is the prologue, so it's pretty short. o A o

Ignore everything from the show and all the 'canon' and this will be more enjoyable. I do not own them, thought I wish I did. Uhh I'm still trying to make up a summary…so yeah…

10-year old Noatak frowned. He didn't like these 'hunting trips' his father was making him and his 7-year old brother go to. He liked his bending, and he hated haing to use it to harm helpless animals. Noatak knew that one day it'd escalate all the way to using it on humans. He shivered.

"Noatak, please pass the sea prunes." He heard his father's deep voice call out to him from the other side of the table. It had a mix of roughness and menace, but it seemed only Noatak noticed. The air was tense, and his mother, Keeva, noticed this.

She raised her arm and pointed to his chest.

"There's a stain." she said, and when Noatak looked down, she brought her finger up and caressed it all the way to his forehead, mocking him. Noatak blinked as his mother let out a soft laugh and he replied to it with a soft smile of his own. His brother, Tarrlok, also let out a laugh and his father only sighed with a small smile himself. He loved when his wife did childish things, but he needed to teach his sons how to toughen up and leave all this child stuff behind.

The family finished eating and left the table. Yakone, currently under the fake name of Anuq, ordered his sons to meet him outside, for more waterbending practice. Tarrlok and Noatak looked at each other with concerned expression as they complied. Waterbending practice was like usual, a place where no one would see nor hear them, their father filling their ears with treaths each time they made a mistake in the bending, the tense air, the watery eyes and whimpers of Tarrlok, the plans of running away that crossed Noatak each time, and even the harsh winds that only seemed to become harsher when they practiced their bending.

"Practice over." Their father growled, frustrated, as he stomped back to his home. Noatak let out a breath. Finally, he left. His lungs suddenly felt like something was crushing them, his heart tightened, and his troath seemed to have a knot.

"Noatak…?" Tarrlok said as he looked at his brother.

"I'll go for a walk…I-I'll be back soon." Noatak explained as he quickly turned and ran away to a place he knew no one would follow him to. It was a cave he had discovered the first time he ran off. It ran pretty deep into a mountain, and at some point, it was like a big round hole, with a small river running on one side. It was pretty beautiful, since it also had crystals on some of the walls. Not just ordinary crystals, glow-in-the-dark crystals. Like the ones he heard the "Cave of two lovers" had for when they met in secret. It had a lot of space beside the river, and he would often use it to practice. But today, like many other times, he came to cry, to let out all that he bottled up through the waterbending practice.

He ran deep into the cave until he finally reached the big round 'room' that had the river on the side. He took off one of his gloves as he reached the river. He cuped the clear water in his hand and drank it. Then he went to one of the corners and let the tears stream down his face. He put his glove back on his hand and held his face with them, letting out whimpers and sobs.

A full-blown blizzard was going on outside of the cave, and young girl entered the cave, looking for shelter. She suddenly flinched as she heard whimpers echoing from deeper in the cave. Her bright electric blue eyes glowed slightly from the crystal's brightness. Should she go and check out what was producing that sound? She hesitated, sca— no, not scared. She was definetly not scared. She was the avatar, and she was not scared of anything! She puffed her cheeks stubbornly as she walked deeper into the cave with a determined expression.

That expression dissapeared when she saw it was a boy who was producing those sounds. He balled up on the floor, with his face buried in his hand, and his body shoke slightly with each sob he let out. She walked silently in front of him, and crouched down to his level, tilting her head to the side.

"What's wrong?" The girl said, catching his attention. He chocked on the sob he had half-way let out and rose his head from his hands to stare at her with wide eyes. His watery, almost crystal clear with some hints of different tones of blue eyes stared at her darker, yet brighter, blue eyes.

"W-what—-w-who?" Noatak struggled for words. It was embarrassing that a girl-a cute one- had caught him crying like a little kid.

"I asked what was wrong. Are you hurt?" She asked once again. Noatak calmed himself down before he slowly responded, "No, I'm not hurt, though I do appreciate your concern…". She giggled and stood up, holding out a hand to help him up while saying, "It's my duty to make sure everyone's okay!" Noatak furrowed his eyebrows in a confused expression as he grabbed her hand and stood up. He was about to ask her what she meant before she giggled again and said, "We have the same hairstyle."

Noatak's cheeks turned a little pink as he looked at her hairstyle and noticed it was true.

"…How did you find this place?" Noatak asked after a moment of silence.

"…I was just taking a walk and a blizzard came out of nowhere, so I looked around for shelter, and ended up here!" The girl said, flashing him a smile. She knew it was a lie, but she couldn't tell him the complete truth, she had just met him, afterall.

_'A blizzard?!'_ Noatak thought to himself in surprise. Oh spirits, his mom must be worried sick, knowing her.

"I need to go as soon as it lightens up," He informed the girl, who just looked at him and nodded.

"I'm Noatak, by the way! I'm ten. " He said, once realizing he had never told her his name.

"Nice to meet you, Noatak. I'm Korra! And I'm also ten." Korra said, a toothy grin on her face. She looked adorable. She extended her hand and he stared at it, cofused, before he finally caught up and shoke it.

"Do you come here often?" Korra asked him and he thought about it for a while. Well, he didn't, but he could. He could come meet her and play with her. "Yup," he finally answered her. "If you can, you should also come from time to time, you know, to play" he proposed shyly, afraid of her saying no. But much to his relief, she nodded her head with that same cute smile.

"Oh, you never answered what was wrong." She pointed out. Noatak hesitated, before replying, "Oh it was nothing, I just got frustrated over not being able to master a waterbending move…."

"Hmm, I'm pretty good at waterbending-if I do say so myself-, maybe I could teach you?" She offered as she bended water out of the river and made it twirl around Noatak. He smiled, "Sure, but I'm afraid it has to be some other day, I have to go soon or my family will worry." he told her as he made his way along with her to the entrance of the cave, noticing the blizzard stopped and it was only snowing lightly.

"Yeah, I should go back, too" Korra pouted. Noatak couldn't help but laugh slightly at the cute gesture. Then he remembered something as she started walking out of the cave.

"Hey….why did you say it was your duty to make sure everyone's okay?" He asked her. He rubbed his freezing cheeks.

Korra looked back at him over her shoulder and then walked up to him, igniting fire on her palms. Noatak gasped. She was the….-She rubbed her now warm gloves against his cheeks, heating them up nicely. Then she finally answered with a, "Because, I'm the Avatar, and that's what Avatars do!" And with another wide, cute smile she ran away from the cave, to her home.

Noatak made his way back home, shocked. She was the Avatar, the person he was training to 'destroy'. As soon as he got home he was bombared with hugs from his brother and mother, and questions from his father. He only explained he had gone for a walk and for some waterbending practice and a blizzard caught up to him, so he sheltered himself in a cave. He never mentioned his meeting with the avatar.

Korra went back to her home, satisfied she made a new friend. The White Lotus leader welcomed her and asked her if her mission was finished. Korra nodded her head. **'Yakone has run away and made a new life. We have decided not to arrest him under Aang's orders. Instead, you must find Yakone's sons and prevent them from becoming what their father wants them to become.**' It was the mission assigned to her, top secret, too. At first she thought it was silly, but once meeting the boy, finding him crying (Of course, she knew why he was crying.) it suddenly struck to her. She sat down on her bed and looked out the window. The full moon seemed bigger than usual.

Everything went back to normal and a few hours after that his family was asleep. But Noatak laid awake on his bed. He brought his hand up to his cheek and touched it slightly, remembering her warm touch. He remembered his father's words: **'You must destroy the avatar, that is your purpose in life!'**. His expression became one of determination.

_'That girl is…' _

Korra frowned thinking over her mission. His father was going to make a ruthless killer out of him and his brother. She laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

'_That boy is…'_

'_Someone I need to protect._' They both thought at the same time.


	2. Chapter 2

**ASDJABSWI Sorry for not updating! I hadn't had sleep in like 4 days and when I did go to sleep I woke up like 18 hours later.. xD...Only to find I had uploaded the prologue of a story that I wasn't supposed to post yet because I hadn't writen anymore chapters of it! LOL Now I feel the pressure, but I'm glad people are enjoying it! :D Thanks for the reviews, guys! This chap's fluffy. And Im doing art work of it...Im going to put up the link later.**

**I do not own them~!**

"Noatak! Where are we going?" Tarrlok whined as he was being led by Noatak pretty far from home. Noatak looked back at his younger brother and rolled his eyes.

"Do you want a friend, Tarrlok?" Noatak asked his younger brother, whose eyes lit up at the question. He had never really had friends before, because of his dad.

"But, You have to keep this a secret." Noatak told his younger brother, who nodded.

"So, who is this person?" Tarrlok couldn't help but ask. Noatak smiled to himself.

"A nice girl." He answered. Tarrlok's clear blue-green eyes widened, "A girl?" he asked.

"How did you meet her?" The younger boy asked again.

"Remember when I got caught up in that blizzard? We sheltered in the same place. I only met her a few months ago." Noatak explained. Tarrlok stopped dead in his tracks suddenly. Noatak looked back at him with a confused expression.

Tarrlok's mouth formed a small 'o' as he stared at the girl leaning against a rock beside a cave. She was cute, and her hairstyle matched Noatak's. Noatak followed his gaze and stiffled a laugh.

"Korra!" Noatak yelled out and raised his arm, waving. Tarrlok's surprise was directed at him now, realizing that this was the girl he was talking about. They got closer to her and Tarrlok got shy and hid behind Noatak.

"Ah, do I look scary?" Korra asked Noatak, who chuckled. "Not really, he's just shy." he explained. Korra made a cute pout at him and Tarrlok's cheeks went pink.

"Hello there~! I'm Korra!" Korra said in a proud tone as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm Tarrlok..." Tarrlok said, barely audible. Korra smiled as she went behind Noatak, facing a blushing Tarrlok. She held out her hand, "Nice to meet you, Tarrlok." she said. Tarrlok slowly shoke her hand, nodding, "Nice to meet you, too."

_'I see, so this Yakone's other son.'_ Korra thought to herself, replaying in her head everything the White Lotus had said about the pair. She clenched her fist.

"Now then," Korra started as she went back in front of Noatak, "I have a question for you both." she stated with a serious look. Both Tarrlok and Noatak froze and she continued.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" she asked and gave them a big smile, her beautiful blue eyes shining at them. She had a bag thrown over her shoulder.

"YES!" Tarrlok accidentally yelled out. He looked at the expressions of Noatak and Korra before he stared at the floor in shame. A soft laugh echoed in his ears, Korra's laugh.

"Well, let's go," She said and started running towards the place where the penguins were. On the way there, she bit the inside of her cheek. '_It's kind of hard to believe these two are going to grow up to be horrible men...'_ Korra thought to herself, frowning. She stopped on top of a hill, her expression serious.

'_But how do I prevent them from that? How do I keep them like this? Yakone, you...!'_ she asked herself in her head, clenching her teeth. She wished the White Lotus would have let more information slip, or at least told her in detail how to handle this kind of situation. But, nooo, this was supposed to be something she had to deal with because 'she was the avatar and that's what avatars do' as they had told her.

"You sure run fast," Noatak commented behind her while panting; snapping her out of her thought bubble. She put on her usual smile and faced him and his brother.

"I was going to go penguin sledding yesterday, so I had caught some fish, but since I decided to come today with you guys, here they are." Korra said, reaching into her bag and pulling out four cubes of ice with two fish inside each. Korra gave one cube to Noatak and one to Tarrlok.

"You guys should bend away the ice first," Korra explained before mentally slapping herself, _'I'm not supposed to know Tarrlok can waterbend!'_

"Uh, Tarrlok, you can waterbend right? Or should I help?" Korra said, hoping to cover up her mistake. To her relief, Tarrlok smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm a waterbender." Korra nodded with a smile. They descended the hill to where a small of group of the penguins were.

Korra couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Tarrlok accidentally caught one that was too big for him and she couldn't really tell who was gonna ride who down the hill. Noatak had caught one that seemed perfect for him, only...it wouldn't move at his command, not even a nudge. Noatak groaned, he had wasted a fish.

Korra had made friends with the penguin she always used. She didn't have to use the fish to lure her, the penguin went to her once it saw her, Korra only gave her the fish to reward it. She smiled as she held out a fish for one of the other penguins and when he ate the fish, Korra caught him.

"This one seems just about right for Tarrlok," she said, catching both brother's attention. Tarrlok's cheeks went red, realizing that he had shown a pretty pathetic side of him to her. Thankfully for him, Korra didn't seem to think that, or at least she said nothing about it. He got grabbed onto the penguin and couldn't help but pat him on the head, to which it responded by leaning into Tarrlok's hand. The boy smiled, "Noatak, look!" he said.

Noatak smiled at his little brother before returning his attention to Korra as she caught another penguin and turned to him, "Here, take this one," she said and he walked over to her to grab the penguin. For a moment, their gloved hands brushed against each other, but Korra didn't give it much thought. Noatak, however, bit back a blush.

_'After this, everything will be back to normal..._' Noatak thought, thinking about his waterbending practices. He sighed, even when we was having fun his father came into his mind.

The trio was now atop of the hill, each on their penguins and ready to race.

"Whoever gets there first gets a reward?" Korra offered Tarrlok and Noatak. They looked at each other and then back at her.

"But what would the reward be?" Tarrlok asked.

"Hmm...hadn't thought about that, but I guess the winer decides?" Korra answered.

"Sounds good to me," Noatak shrugged.

Korra looked down the hill, "All right! Ready...set...Go!" the three penguins were now racing down the hill. They were laughing as they tried to pass each other.

Noatak smirked as he made sure that they weren't aware of him before he used waterbending to make the penguin go faster. Tarrlok pouted as he noticed what his older brother did before he also used waterbending to impulse his penguin. Korra's was too much fun to notice them cheating, though. In the end, Noatak won. Tarrlok was second and Korra got in third. She pouted, it was the first time she'd lost. Maybe it was because their penguins were younger than her's, but she wouldn't trade it for any other penguin.

The penguins had already gone home. And Noatak was walking beside Korra and Tarrlok with a smirk.

"So, I guess I choose my reward." He said and put a hand to his chin, thinking about what would his reward be. "Cheaters don't get rewards," Tarrlok said and Korra raised an eyebrow. "You cheated too, Tarrlok!" Noatak said back. Korra rolled her eyes, now knowing how they won, and she saw the cave come in view. She looked towards the brothers, hidding a grin. When she noticed that they weren't aware of her, she made a run for the cave. She laughed as they tried to catch up.

She made her way into the cave before them, but when she looked ahead of her she stopped dead in her tracks with wide blue eyes. The growling sound resonated through out the cave.

"Korra?" Noatak asked behind as he finally caught up only to stop a few feet away with his younger brother.

"K-Korra...Run!" Tarrlok said as he looked at the white creature in front of her. Korra only walking forward, making both brothers freak out.

"Korra!" They both shouted as the creature growled again.

"She's...going to die..." Korra murmured loud enough to be heard.

"What are you talking about?" Noatak said as he bended water out of the snow out of the cave, if it was to protect people he cared about, then he didn't care what he had to use his bending for.

Korra looked back over her shoulder and glared as she saw the hovering water. She fully turned to them and raised her arms to the sides, acting like a shield.

"Take a good look at her, will you?!" She hissed out. Hesitantly, Noatak stepped closer to get a better look. There, behind Korra, lay an injured polarbear dog. His waterbending grip flattered, now he didn't want to harm it.

Tarrlok came up behind him and also stared with pity at the animal.

"What do we do with it, though?" Tarrlok asked.

Korra frowned, "Nothing...it's about to die, afterall"

"Eh, you can tell?" Noatak asked, looking at her.

"Yes, It seems she fought with another polar bear dog for some reason..." Korra explained, pointing to her wounds. There was no other animal in the North Pole big or powerful enough to cause such damage. Sure enough, the growling turned to whines as the polar bear dog fought to stay awake and alive. It was laying down against the side of the cave, but there was still enough space to walk past her, deeper into the cave. If you kept walking you'd eventually reach the big room-like void that had the river on one of the sides. They called it the 'river room'.

Korra passed by the weak polarbear dog, she knew it couldn't attack her in it's weak state.

"ah, Korra, where are you going?" Tarrlok said, planning of following, only to stop when the polarbear dog gave a glare. He knew it wouldn't attack him, but he didn't want to take the risk. They watched as she entered the river room, going out of their sight.

"Found it!" Korra yelled out from the cave. Earning the curiosity of Noatak and Tarrlok. She came back, holding a cub-pup in her hands. The polarbear dog raised it's head and looked at Korra, slightly glaring.

"Oh, easen up, I would never hurt it." Korra said and Noatak raised an eyebrow before realizing that she had said it to the polarbear dog.

"Are there more?" Tarrlok asked as he finally passed the polarbear dog quickly. Korra handed him the cub-pup, "I'm going to check," she said before going back to the river room. Noatak got closer to the weakened polarbear dog. He sat cross-legged in front of it, knowing he couldn't save it. He reached out a hand and used it to pat it's head. It's eyes slowly closed and he could tell it's heart stopped beating. He held in tears. He had never grown close to animals in fear of understanding them. Understanding them as his father forced them to put them through unbearable pain.

"Noatak." Korra called out, holding another cub-pup, except this one didn't seem to have much to live, neither. She got closer and laid the cub-pup on his lap.

"Yes?" He asked, holding it.

"...Heal it." She said, sitting in front of him.

"What..?" He asked with wide eyes.

"You can heal it, you're a pretty strong waterbender." she said to him. Tarrlok came with the healthy pup and sat beside Korra.

"But...you're also a waterbender." Noatak protested.

"My waterbending is only strong when it comes to fighting. It's too rough to heal." Korra explained.

"Can't Tarr-"

"Noatak!" She yelled as she glared, "It might _die_ if you don't heal it."

He froze. He remembered the cub-pup's mom. It had died, most likely trying to protect her two cub-pups. Her death would have been half in vain if he let the poor animal die. The hand that patted her hair twitched.

"...Fine" He finally agreed. He put both hands on the cub-pup and closed his eyes. Bloodbending had it's perks, he could use the water inside the body to heal it. He knew that Tarrlok was aware of what method he was using, but he just hoped Korra didn't. Bloodbending was still a horrible thing.

Even though Noatak nor Tarrlok noticed it, Korra knew exactly what he was doing. She bit her lip, wondering whether to stop him or something. She was supposed to prevent them from becoming bloodbenders...but he was using it for good. Plus, stopping him would mean exposing the fact that she knew that they bloodbent. She couldn't take that risk.

"Let's keep them." Korra said.

"I...don't think dad would let us," Noatak said, _'and if he did, he'd probably use her as our practice.'_ he thought bitterly.

Korra let out a laugh, "I mean here, in this cave. For the three of us."

"But...they're polarbear dogs..." Tarrlok finally spoke, while reaching for the left over fish and giving it to the healthy cub pup, watching it eat it in just one bite.

"So what? They can be domesticated, and these ones are young enough to be." Korra said, smiling. Tarrlok thought about it for a while before sighing and holding out the up that was almost his size, "This one's a male."

Noatak finished healing the one in his hands and checked it, "This one's okay now, and it's a girl."

"I want the girl!" Korra cut in, taking the cub-pup from him as she softly hugged it.

"Uh, who's gonna name them?" Tarrlok asked, sitting closer to Korra so their pups could be at reach.

"I'll let Korra name the female one. Tarrlok, you and I name the male pup?" Noatak offered as he sat closer to he pair to pet the pups.

"I'll name this one...Naga." Korra said and the pup just licked at her face.

"Noatak! Let's name this one Kovu!" Tarrlok said, excited. It was the first time he ever got a pet. Noatak patted his younger brother's head, "Sure."

"Come on," Korra said and went back to the river room with Naga on her arms. Noatak and Tarrlok followed behind with Kovu. Korra put her pup down and smirked to herself. She slammed a foot on the ground and brought her fists up. At the action, earth was also brought up. She made a den on the corner of the river, so they'd have access to water. She got closer to the river part and brought up the earth below it, only about twelve inches from the surface. And finally, she made slits on the earth wall on the river so the water would go through it, but not large enough for them to walk into the deep part of the river and drown.

Tarrlok's eyes widened as he realized what she was- _who_ she was. He turned to his brother, he didn't look surprised, he already knew.

"It's best to keep them in this den for now, if they go out they might get lost or eaten," Korra explained. She knew that Tarrlok had realized she was the Avatar by now. She just quietly walked past the brothers and called over her shoulder, "I'm going to bury their mom.", and went to use earthbending to get the polarbear dog's corpse out of the cave.

While she was doing this, Tarrlok hissed at Noatak, "Noatak, she's-"

"I know."

"Then why are you her friend?" Tarrlok asked

"She's not a bad person..." Noatak started, "Plus, it wasn't her that did bad stuff to dad, so, she's not his enemy, and, not our enemy," he finished explaining.

Tarrlok didn't look convinced, but he found his words to make sense. He was about to say something before Korra came back.

"Finished!" She declared as she grabbed both cub-pups with much difficulty before putting them inside the den and reaching for her bag.

"We should go home soon." Tarrlok said after how many hours had passed, he missed his mother.

"Yeah, I should go home, too" Korra said as she pulled the fish out of her bag and put them inside the den for the pups to eat.

"So, about that reward..." Noatak said, smirking, and Korra and Tarrlok frowned at him. "Just kidding!"

They laughed as they walked out of the cave. Tarrlok was the first to run out, and Noatak was going out before a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "...You did a good job." Korra praised with with a soft smile. He smiled back, "Thanks." and Korra watched as they both dissapeared out of her sight in the snowy fields.

_'If it's like this, then it's only a matter of time, huh?'_ she asked herself, her ponytail swishing in the air from the wind of the upcoming storms. Then, she decided. If she could not save them from the outside, then she wouldn't hesitate to come face-to-face with Yakone himself. She clencher her fist.

_'Aang...'_ she thought as she rose her head to stare at the darkening sky. She sighed and forced her legs to move towards the White Lotus compound. She'd have to train harder in order to accomplish such a mission.


	3. Chapter 3

**I apologize for the long wait, I never expected high school to be so...tiring. x_x Only one week and I already have a project and some oral presentations. e-e Plus I'm totally gonna fail math and get screwed. :D... )': **

**Enjoy this chappie? It's the first time I'd do a multi-chaptered story, as in more than 10 chaps, and I dont wanna reveal much of future scenes. e-e So I'm still struggling.**

**Ugh, that awful moment when you can think about any other chapter the story could have yet need to write the beggining of the story and not rush it e_e I already got some more chapters but if I post them now, it's going to become rushed :I Fuuuu-**

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A 13 year-old Korra trudged through the snow towards the cave. Her now mid-back length ponytail was swishing with the force of the wind. It was very windy today. She carried two bag with lots of fish in them for their pets.

She smiled, thinking of Noatak and Tarrlok, and then frowned again thinking of how she had not made any progress with her mission.

_'Things are playing right into Yakone's hand'_ Korra thought bitterly. When she got to the cave, she was met with Tarrlok and Noatak's head looking down, not daring to meet her eyes. She rose an eyebrow.

"Why are you bowing your heads?" She asked them.

"We got waterbending practice." Came Noatak's response. She thought about how much his voice had changed in such little time, but shoke the damned thought off her head. Must be this whole 'Puberty' mumbo-jumbo master Katara had talked to her about. About how she would start 'noticing' boys. Psh. What a load of garbage, she would never think of them like that.

...Would she?

No! She wouldn't. That aside, they were going to 'waterbending practice'. It was painfully obvious to Korra, from what The White Lotus informed her, that they were going to train bloodbending. Train bloodbending to_ destroy her_; she shivered at the thought.

"...Aw. But I just walked a long way to here," Korra whined. Noatak finally rose his head and gave a sad smile.

"We're sorry, Korra." Tarrlok finally spoke up and went over to her, hugging her to express his apology. She patted his head and said, "It's okay, Tarrlok." but turned her eyes away, not wanting to express that she knew it wasn't okay.

"We'll be back tomorrow. Let's go Tarrlok." Noatak said, passing by Korra, only ruffling her hair slightly. He felt guilty being friendly while he trained to one day 'destroy' her. Tarrlok understood his brother's feelings, too.

Korra gritted her teeth,_ 'I've gotta stop them...' _She looked at their retreating figures, '_Before any more damage is done...' _

"I'm going with you!" She blurted out, and saw Noatak completely tense up as Tarrlok only flinched.

" I don't think that's such a good idea, Korra." Noatak said, not turning around. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a stubborn pout, "Why? 'Cause you're bad at it or something?"

He shoke his head. Tarrlok nudged at him, " Even if we tell her not to come, won't she just sneak anyway?" Tarrlok whispered to Noatak, reminded him that it was Korra they were talking about, not just a normal girl. The hot-headed you-gotta-deal-with-it chick. Noatak sighed.

" Fine." He said, looking back at her, only to be shoved back onto the snowy ground by her glomp. His face went red as she hugged him and she reached for Tarrlok's sleeve and pulled him down for a group hug-glomp.

"But you have to promise to not to reveal that you're the Avatar!" Noatak said and Korra just nodded.

Noatak silently wished that things would stay like this forever. He hugged Korra and Tarrlok, who were laughing, and declared a snowball war when they came back from the practice. Korra was the first to stand up,

"I'll go feed Kovu and Naga and then we'll go." then she ran into the cave.

The big beats rose their heads and wagged their tails once seeing her. She smiled; briefly, she remembered when they were just pups. They had grown quite large, and she was sure they still had much to grow. She dumped the fishes of one of the bags into a small bowl made of earth she had made long ago, it was Kovu's. Then she dumped the fishes of the other bag into Naga's bowl.

They knew better than to fight to get each other's food, it would only in scolding and not getting greetings nor pats nor treats. She ran out of the cave where Noatak and Tarrlok awaited.

* * *

The chiefs of the White Lotus cringed at the glaring, screaming woman in front of them.

" Senna, please calm down." Her husband tried to reason with her.

"How dare you send my daughter in such a dangerous mission and keep it from us?!" She lashed out once again, "I know she's the avatar, but the others are bloodbenders! What if something goes wrong?"

"Miss Senna, please calm down, we have the situation under control and monitored." One of the chiefs said and the others held in a cough, they hadn't been monitoring her but it seemed -judging by how she came back with a huge smile - that they were on good terms.

"Well _I_ haven't heard word from anyone of when she comes back," Senna said, narrowing her eyes.

"Er, we could send someone you know," The other chief offered with a nervous smile. Tonraq looked at them, deep in thought.

"How about the boy she used to play with as a child?" He offered. The chief raised an eyebrow, "Ah! Honora's son. Yes, yes, he would quite fit the job."

* * *

Noatak started regretting his decision. He was currently dragging Korra by her hand away from everything that caught her attention.

"Oh! Look at that baby tiger-seal! Aww!" Korra said and then looked around the village, "Wow, my home doesn't look like this at all!" She tried running to the small shop that caught her attention with it's wooden figures but was yanked by her hand. Tarrlok took her other hand to help Noatak take her to their home.

"Hey Tarrlok," Korra started and the boy turned to her, "Yes?"

"You have very pretty eyes!" She said to him, and his face went beat red, "E-eh?"

"Noatak's is a very clear blue, which are also pretty, but yours are like a sea green mixed with blue, they're rare" She explained and Tarrlok looked down, his red face making the color of his eyes stand out and Noatak just let out a soft chuckle, which soon dissolved into a dark expression as they reached their destination.

"Remember not to expose yourself," Noatak said, letting go of her hand and walking towards the entrance of their home along with Tarrlok, who had also let go of her hand.

_'I know better than to expose myself to that monster'_ Korra thought in her head as she took a few steps forward.

"Noatak! Tarrlok!" A voice boomed and all confidence got drained from Korra. The stories that they had informed her about what Yakone had done in his past replayed in her mind. How he would use his bloodbending to snap necks, or rip limbs off people. She was frozen, and she did her best not to portray any emotion on her face.

"There's my boys," said the man as he came out of the hut along with a beautiful woman and put his hands on their heads, greeting them.

"Hm, Who's this?" Yakone said when his eyes landed on her. Korra looked up at him, with no emotion on her face at first.

_'It's okay, he's not going to magically find out who you are, the White Lotus has kept a secret that they had found the new Avatar, you'll be fine, Korra. Just get on his good side.' _She thought to herself, trying to calm down her nerves.

"Dad, this is our friend, Koneko." Noatak explained.

_'Heh, fake name, huh? Smart boy.'_ She thought to herself,_ 'Time to act'_

"Wow, sir, you're so tall, nice to meet you" Korra commented, bowing slightly, and she could almost feel the sudden pride radiating off Yakone.

"One day these two will also be like me," Yakone said, putting his hands on his sons' shoulders.

"But Tarrlok's so fluffy and adorable," Korra said tilting her head to the side. Yakone let out a laugh, he seemed to enjoy her comments.

"Just wait till he grows up, kiddo." Yakone said proudly.

"You should listen to what he says, Tarrlok, and you'll grow up tall and strong like that." Korra said to a blushing Tarrlok.

_'She flatters me too much,"_ thought a flustered Tarrlok.

The mother stepped forward with a kind smile and said, "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Noatak raised his eyebrows, "Weren't we going on a hunting trip, dad?" he asked his father.

"I'll leave that for tomorrow, it's the first time you boys bring a friend here, afterall" He explained. Yep, he definetly liked Korra's flattery.

"My name is Lily, by the way." The mother said.

"Wow, it fits, because your eyes are as pretty as the lilac lilies." Korra said in awe, and the mother put a hand to her rosy cheeks.

"I wish I was born with eyes as pretty as your's and Tarrlok's" Korra pouted.

"Your's are also good, kid" Yakone said, putting a hand on her head. He had never imagined what having a daughter would feel like, but this girl made him want to have one.

Korra smiled, remembering how her father would also pat her head like this.

"Well, let's go, before the food gets cold," Yakone said, retreating into his home along with his wife.

Noatak turned to Korra and smiled at her, he liked how she suddenly brough out a kinder side of his father, maybe, just maybe, she could help him get over his revenge and live normally. He grabbed Tarrlok and Korra's hand and dragged them inside.

_'They're not as bad as the White Lotus told me they were..._' Korra thought as Noatak dragged her by the hand._ 'They're...actually very nice'_

* * *

"So glad you agreed to this, Honora." Senna said to the woman in front of her. Honora smiled and whispered to her, "In reality, Iroh wanted to come really badly, when I had first told him no, I thought he was going to freak out." Both women started laughing.

The 15-year-old boy raised an eyebrow at them, wondering what woman gossip they could be talking about. His eyes traveled around the compound, but no sign of the girl who sent his heart nuts with her you-gotta-deal-with-it attitude.

But he did spot one of the White Lotus chiefs motioning him to go over there.

"Come in here, and we'll explain your mission." The chief explained and Iroh hesitated for a moment before going with him.

"We have sent Korra on a mission. It's a very risky mission. Yakone had escaped and started a new life here, in the Northen Water Tribe. Sadly, after he found out his two sons were able to waterbend, his dark intentions came back, and he is currently making them practice how to bloodbend so that they can destroy the Avatar." At those words, Iroh snapped,

"Why would you send Korra in such a mission?! What if they find out she's the avatar and decide to accelerate their plans and kill her on the spot?!" He screamed at the chief, who only rose his hand and said, "That's why we are sending you with her from now on."

Iroh frowned before he held his head high, "Fine. What village was she assigned to?"

The chief smiled, "The Village of Tui. It is south. However, Iroh, do not get in her way. Your mission is only so she returns safely."

Iroh furrowed his brow, "...What do you mean by that?"

"You will most likely find out later, for now, Korra is currently at their place, unsecure and unmonitored." The chief finished, giving him the hint to go already.

Iroh turned around and left the room, going past Senna and his mother and waving goodbye at them. He had on his parka and snow boots, and he walked past the huge doors of the compound towards the Village of Tui.

* * *

Korra(Koneko) never thought dinner could be so fun. Filled with stories and jokes. She never imagined it'd be _Yakone's _family that would be so much fun. Lily could notice her oldest son sending shy glances at the girl from time to time, and softly smiled to herself.

"I used to be a great fighter," Yakone kept telling stories, pride dripping off his voice as he watched Koneko's expression filled with awe. Of course, he left out the being the leader of the underworld parts, made it seem like he fought for good, what he didn't know, was that Koneko knew who he was even if he didn't say it.

They had long finished their dinner and were just randomly talking before they noticed it was pretty dark out.

"Aw, It's getting dark, I have to go." Korra declared to the family. Yakone frowned slightly and said, "You should come by another day, it was fun, kiddo."

"I will, take care everyone," She bowed slightly and headed out the door.

Lily smirked at Noatak, "Well, Noa? Won't you be a _gentleman _and escort her to her home or at least near it?" she said. Noatak's cheeks went rosy as he stood up and headed out the door, running to catch up to her.

"Korra!" He said once he caught up to her, "I'll accompany you to at least the cave."

On the way there it was silent, before Korra spoke up, "You have a very nice family."

"From time to time, yeah." was his answer. Soon the path became foggy, so foggy they could barely see ahead, but they followed the path of rocks that Korra had put when it got foggy like this. It went from the cave to his village, and from the cave to her home. Noatak suddenly stopped, it had gotten very foggy and suddenly he couldn't see Korra. Had she passed him? Stayed behind?

He opened his mouth to call her name before he felt her collide with his back with an 'oof'.

"Oh, you scared me there," He said as she stepped beside him. Truth was, he could get rid of the fog, but for some reason he didn't want to.

His gloved hand grabbed her's, and he earned a confused stare from Korra.

"So we don't loose each other," He quickly explained, and she just nodded and started walking along with him to the cave. They were greeted by Kovu and Naga, now Korra really regretted taking them in her arms as if they were babies when they were little, because now they wanted her to do the same but they were too big and heavy. Noatak was still beside her, though he didn't hold her hand anymore.

They decided to play with the polarbear dogs for a while before they both went back to their homes. It had gone completely dark and Korra made a small campfire with some wood they had inside the cave.

"We should spar," Korra suddenly commented, causing Noatak to widen his eyes. "Right now?" he asked

"Well...right now we could, and some other days too! Remember when we met? That you were crying about not being able to master a waterbending technique? I could teach you a lot of moves! " Korra offered with a smile. Noatak smiled back and walked further out in front of the cave , where the was more snow, and positioned himself in a fighting position, challenging her. The fog was long-gone by now, and everything was clear.

She went a few feet in front of him and also positioned herself in a fighting stand with a smile. She tilt her head slightly, telling him to give the first shot.

Noatak bended a stream of water from the snow and sent it her way, but a blast of fire hit the water and evaporated it on the spot. Noatak and Korra's eyes widened as they turned to the source of the fireball.

"Stay away from her," An enraged Iroh stood about 14 feet away from them, his arms drawn up, his feet positioned in a fighting stance, igniting his fists on fire as they pointed to Noatak with full intention of hitting him as soon as he shot the fireball.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN.**

**P.S. Koneko means kitten in japanese xD / Village of Tui as in Tui and La the ocean and moon spirits **


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so. Sorry for being late, again A Depression struck again and I preferred filling my tummy with wine rather than writing. And no, I'm not an alcoholic. And I never will be, I make sure of it.**

**Someone had told me to use POVs to understand better, and I'm actually considering it. I don't know. xD I haven't completely abandoned the story, though. I have a kiss scene –You'll never guess between who- and some other scenes ready. But I need to write the chapters to get there. LOL, fail ;;**

* * *

Korra's bright blue eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat. What was he doing here?

Iroh's honey colored eyes met with her blue ones. His clenched fists suddenly went soft. He looked back at the boy, he knew that if he stared any longer in Korra's eyes his anger would vanish, and in his hesitation, who knew what could happen.

"Step. Away." Iroh hissed out at Noatak, who was still frozen in place. His head turned to Korra, who sent him a look that told him to do so. He took some steps back while glaring at the firebender. He backed up to the entrance of the cave. Iroh took that chance to run over in front of Korra, shielding her from the watertribe boy. Korra bit her lip, how would she explain this? Did Iroh even know about her mission?

"Iroh," Korra hissed out behind him, so only he would hear, "You don't know what you're doing." She informed him. His arms were still raised, ready to shoot fire. He turned his head slightly, " I know about your mission, I'm here to make sure you're safe." He said.

" I _am _safe. You're going to mess things up," She replied, gripping onto the hem of his coat, pulling at it, not wanting for Noatak and Iroh to fight. Iroh winced, slightly hurt from the harsh words.

" Korra?" Noatak, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up. His eyes narrowed when the firebender's glare went back to him. He bended the water off the snow, trying not to pay attention to Korra's change of expression. Korra had never spoken of this person, so he didn't know if he was a threat. But one thing was for sure; this firebender wanted a fight, and he was about to get one.

* * *

Tarrlok walked around his home.

"Tarrlok! Quit that! Noatak's fine!" Yakone said, annoyed. Tarrlok's shoulders slumped.

" What if he isn't, dad?" He pointed out. His mother had gone to sleep, so there was nothing stopping Yakone from being mean.

"Then stop being a wuss and find out for yourself!" His father answered, getting up and walking away. He was most likely also going to sleep. Tarrlok shivered, before swallowing the lump in his throat. Images from when he went penguin sledding with Noatak and Korra passed through his head.

He brought his hand to his face, frowning. To his father, he was a failure. He wasn't that good with bending. Even if he did find them in trouble, he'd make things worse.

But…

He clenched his fists, and ran out in the direction of the cave they always shared.

Yakone scoffed at the boy before turning back to the calendar, planning out which week he could start training Noatak and Tarrlok again.

* * *

Korra couldn't tell if things could get much worse. She never imagined how powerful Noatak and Iroh were. All she could see was water flying around and blasts of fire illuminating it before evaporating it. She had tried screaming out their names, and even bending the earth beneath them, but they just dodged and kept fighting. One of Noatak's sleeves was burnt, along with his skin. But he wasn't the only one injured; Iroh's chest was bleeding profusely from the ice dagger that has graced his skin when he tried to dodge it.

Korra ran into the cave and whistled. The sound echoed off the walls and it was soon replaced with growls and the sounds of heavy pawsteps. She bended down the wall of earth she always made so it would keep the heavy animals inside and out of trouble. She saw Naga first, but Kovu was just behind her. It seemed they already knew what was happening, and were running straight towards it. They stopped in front of Korra, though, as if waiting for orders.

**Iroh POV**

Blood. It was dripping onto the snow. Was that my blood? Or his blood? The sudden heat, and the sudden cold that kept spreading through my body was almost unbearable.

But I wouldn't stop. This boy will one day use those same attacks he's using on Korra. I will protect her, like she protected me.

_'You can sleep now, I'll look out for you, I promise.'_

Images ran through my mind and made my fire blaze brighter. The bloodbender's face turned into horror before I blocked it out with a large blast of fire. I knew he was using the water to stop the fire from reaching him, but I kept the fire going straight for him.

_'Fire is so cool! But...dangerous, and unpredictable, like that time I accidentally burnt you when you were teaching me! At least Sifu Katara had taught me how to heal.'_

She was going to become a great Avatar. Until then, I'll watch over her, and keep dangers like him as far away as possible.

_"You're going to mess things up!" _

I hesitated, and when I did, I felt a blast to my head. My sight got dizzy as my fire went out and I slid a few feet away. I looked at who had done that, but I only saw blurry blue. I tried to focus to see who it was, but a deep growl resonated through my head and a large white creature covered most of my sight.

...Korra? Was that really Korra? I felt water encasing me, freezing around my body until I was immobile. I felt my mind shutting down. The blue, blurry dot ran towards another, darker blurry dot (Who, I'm sure, was the bloodbender). My eyes could no longer see the white beast hovering over me, but I could make out another blue figure getting off it. As the figure got closer I could see it clearly, but my mind was shutting down faster with every passing second.

At least, I could make out those bright blue eyes she had, staring down at me with sadness. I suddenly wanted to reach out for her, but everything went black before I could even register that such action was impossible due to my body being encased in ice. The only thing I managed to feel was her gloved fingers caressing the stray strands of hair off my face.

**_'Hmph, weakling. You shouldn't have been born.'_**

_That...wasn't Korra's voice..._

* * *

Korra bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing tears. She turned back to the two bloodbending brothers. Tarrlok had arrived just in time to send a blow of water to his head and then use it to freeze it around the firebender to immobilize him. Yet...she felt like she was trapped. Now what? How would she explain?

She bended the water off Iroh's unconscious body and allowed her face to be buried into his chest. His bleeding had stopped and she would heal him now, so he would be fine.

Noatak and Tarrlok stared at her from a few feet away. A frown formed on Noatak's face, a pang of jealousy coursing through his body; along with a bunch of questions forming in his head. He just let his body fall back on the snow while Tarrlok took the chance to bend some water and heal his burns.

Thousands of excuses ran through Korra's mind as she raised her head once again and put Iroh's arm over her shoulder, trying to lift him. She finally found a decent excuse and turned to face the two waterbenders that she cared about. Noatak didn't look her in the eye, yet. Tarrlok looked happy while healing his brother; he had doubted his bending abilities but in the end he could still save his brother.

"…Let's go into the cave and I'll explain." She murmured loud enough so they could hear and dragged Iroh inside the cave.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Noatak glaring at Iroh as he came in. She bit her lip, she had suddenly forgotten her excuse.

"...Are you okay?" Tarrlok asked her. She turned to him and blurted out, " He didn't mean to hurt you he was just protecting me."

Damn it! She wasn't supposed to say that!

"Protect you from...?" Noatak spoke up, sitting on a rock, still glaring at the firebender's body.

"Uh, you." Oh God that's not how she was supposed to say it!, "You know, being the Avatar brings lots trouble and stuff...it's not the first time benders have attacked me. He- He just saw you as a threat because, well, you were gonna spar with me and he didn't know." Yeah, that sounded better.

She quickly bended the river water and started healing Iroh, _' Stupid soldier boy lays unconscious' _She thought, mocking the Little Soldier Boy song he always sang to her.

"So, what's his name?" Noatak spoke up. He watched her heal his injuries. Deep inside he wished she had healed his, too. But Tarrlok already did that.

"Kuzon." Korra replied, suddenly getting a Deja-vu moment.

The only answer she got was a small hum. She turned back to her healing; all done, not even a scar was left.

"You two should go home."

"Not quite."

"..Excuse me?"

"We're gonna make sure you're okay."

She narrowed her eyes, " I _am_ okay. I'm the _avatar. _It's my duty to help people, not yours."

Tarrlok looked between Korra and Noatak, not sure if he should speak up. The atmosphere suddenly got uncomfortable and he blurted out,

"So, you and Kuzon dated, huh?"

Korra's face whipped to face him, her dark skin turning reddish, making the color of her eyes pop out. Noatak, however, was too pleased with the idea as he narrowed his eyes at Tarrlok.

_'...Way to go, Tarrlok, that question totally smoothed out the atmosphere'_ He thought to himself sarcastically.

Korra cleared her troath.

"No, I did not date Kuzon." _'Though he kissed me once, and we were too young to think badly of it'_ She finished in her head.

" But you sure looked flatter he came 'to your rescue' back there." Noatak commented, turning his head in annoyance.

_'What is his problem?'_ Korra growled in her head.

A groan from the firebender interrupted everyone. Korra turned to him then to the two boys, "Alright, I'll take care of the rest. You two should really go back to your home."

"What if we help you carry him to your house first?" Tarrlok offered, appearing excited to go to Korra's house like she had gone to theirs.

She froze. Not the best idea to bring them with her to the compound. Oh she could already imagine how that would go.

_' Hey, White Lotus! Just came back with "Kuzon" and the two sons of the once very evil bloodbender Yakone that wasn't such a jerk with me!'_

_'Oh Korra! Welcome back! Good thing you brought them with you! Let's have a friendly game of Pai-Sho instead of locking them up, or killing them, on the spot without even bothering to carry on your mission!' _

_'Oh "Kuzon" and Noatak fought? Aww thats so adorable.'_

And that was _not _how it would go.

"Maybe next time. My parents have been pretty moody this week and I usually don't talk to them much. You can meet them some other day though, when they're as happy as nomads!" She said happily to them. They simply nodded, well, Tarrlok did. Noatak was still upset. Well, that worked.

She stood up and Tarrlok went over to hug her.

"Aww, okay then. Another time it is then. I'll go back home with Noatak." Tarrlok murmured, and , as if on cue, Noatak stood from the rock, not wanting to be left out and hugged Korra from behind, burying his face into her neck.

Korra's eyebrow twitched, though neither boy could see it. She suddenly thought of what would be Iroh's reaction if he suddenly woke up. Being hugged so closely by two pretty attractive waterbenders. Oh God, she thought of them as attractive again. Damn her mind.

Tarrlok let go first and Noatak gave her one last squeeze before whispering in her ear softly, " I still don't trust the firebender, be careful around him." And then he let go of her. He walked past Kovu and Naga, giving them a slight pat on the head.

She pouted,_ 'It's you who should be careful around him'_ she thought. Great. Now Iroh was going to get involved and she doubted things would go smoothly.

The trio exchanged one last glance before the two boys left the cave.

"Well, Korra, you sure enjoy hugging them." A voice commented softly from behind her. She turned to Iroh, who was sitting up now.

"And when did you wake up?" Korra asked, sitting infront of him. The two polar bear dogs growled slightly at Iroh before they huddled up together in the corner.

"When I groaned I was letting you know I woke up," Iroh murmured before he laid back down. Sweat was dripping down his face. In the time he was unconscious, more unwanted memories appeared. He closed his eyes, trying to get some rest before they headed back. It was almost impossible, since every time he closed his eyes, he would see blue. Blue fire, all around him. Licking at his skin, engulfing everything. He let out a shaky breath that Korra noticed.

She went behind Iroh and placed his head on her folded lap. She wouldn't be able to feel them in a while, but for now she wouldn't worry about that. She bended more water and placed her hands on his temples, making the water glow as she tried to relax him. That's not what made him relax; but her words did.

_"You can sleep now, I'll look out for you, I promise."_

* * *

**Dun dun dun mistery past for Iroh xD P.S. THIS STORY DOESN'T EXACTLY FOLLOW MUCH CANONS. SO I'D LIKE TO IMAGINE IROH IS ZUKO'S SON, TYVM. Seriously, though. Im sorry for not updating ; A ; I'm also going to start another Amorra fanfic inspired by Labyrinth (Omg Jareth and Amon; I'd die. Unf.) xD And ANOTHER fic that I wont mention to not get people's hopes up e-e**

** Uhh, reviews are welcomed but if you don't review...then I gotta deal with it xD **


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